I have a Windows Home Server 2003 with three hard drives: one for the WHS OS and two 500GB disks for data storage.
Suddenly, the server can't be connected to by any of the network PCs. On giving it a monitor, I can see the error message : BOOT DISK FAILURE. INSERT SYSTEM DISK. Booting into the BIOS, I notice that only one of the 500GB data disks is recognized (eg listed as a boot option).
What to do next and not lose the stored data? I am not concerned about the computers on our home network (two PCs and a laptop, at present, running Vista Home Premium (1) and Windows XP Pro (2)) nor with the back-up images of these computers on the WHS box (which has the boot disk failure). They are only needed if any of the networked computers should fail and non does right now.
But the server also has all our photos and music and downloaded software in storage. They have been duplicated and should therefore be on both of the 500GB hard disks, not on the failed drive with the home server OS.
I suspect, I will have to start from scratch with the home server, installing the OS on a new drive (if the current one failed because it is broken) and relinking to the 500GB storage drives(s) - would, after a fresh install of the home server software, the storage drives be accessible, using the stored files as they were before, or will they be wiped clean at the re-install?
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Thanks, Joseph Tandl
Canberra, Australia
